Drumbeat Energy Management, the energy management business support service, has published a white paper on independent measurement and verification entitled IPMVP and improving energy-efficiency: The importance of independent measurement & verification.

ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) says that small businesses with well-developed finance teams achieve faster, more sustainable growth for longer and can attract investment to help them develop.

According to Constructionline, the UK's largest and only government-backed pre-qualification service, the length of time it takes to complete pre-qualification questionnaires is the biggest challenge faced by construction companies when tendering for work.

A three-year research project that will help the European Commission to achieve ambitious renewable energy targets, is halfway to completion, according to Bluesky, the UK-based specialist in aerial imaging and remote sensing data collection and processing.

The managing director of CPV, a UK manufacturer of district heating pipe systems, is calling for an end to the way in which the Renewables Obligation is incentivising electricity producers to use biomass fuels in inefficient, conventional power stations and effectively squandering the waste heat produced.

SummitSkills, the sector skills council for the building services engineering sector, is urging the Government to remember the needs of employers of SMEs and micro-businesses following its response to the review of apprenticeships by Doug Richard, published last week.

Responding to Chancellor George Osborne's Budget yesterday (20 March), the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) says that although positive steps have been taken to address the housing crisis, the measures announced may not be enough to enable smaller builders to deliver the energy efficient new homes that Britain badly needs.

The National Skills Academy for Environmental Technologies (NSAET) has produced a free, online sales and marketing plan generator with the aim of helping small to medium-sized businesses think of new ideas and find cost-effective ways to promote their services.

HMRC (HM Revenue & Customs) has announced an 11th hour change to its Real Time Information system, its new way of reporting PAYE, just two weeks before the scheme goes live, according to the Forum of Private Business (FPB).

The UK Green Building Council (UK-GBC) is urging the Chancellor to use his Budget 2013 to demonstrate the Coalition's commitment to energy efficiency as a key driver of green growth and to give the construction sector a timely boost.

eu.bac, the European Building Automation and Controls Association, is introducing a Europe-wide voluntary energy labelling scheme for building services products that deliver heating regulation and hydraulic balancing, not currently covered by EU labelling regulations.

The Heat Pump Association (HPA) has issued a qualified welcome to the DECC's consultation outcome (27 February) on the Government Response: Providing Certainty & Improving Performance consultation on the non-domestic RHI, which closed in September last year.

According to the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), 25% of SME building firms have missed out on contracts because they can't secure vital funding and many claim that banks and building societies are "actively discriminating" against construction companies.

EnOcean Alliance, the group formed of leading companies from the building sector worldwide, says it is advancing the interoperability between EnOcean-based products from different OEMs by developing the EEP 2.5 version of the EnOcean Equipment Profiles (EEP).

A series of short essays outlining the business case for green buildings and infrastructure have been written by ceos from 15 major companies, from design and construction firms, to engineers and energy companies, including Atkins, Balfour Beatty and E.ON.

A new EU Directive has been welcomed by The National Specialist Contractors' Council (NSCC) and will see the principles of fair payment outlined in its Fair Payment Campaign being extended throughout Europe.

The first nationally accredited environmental training programme for people working on construction sites, the Site Environmental Awareness Training Scheme (SEATS), was officially launched at an event in London on 28 February.

Members of the Building & Engineering Services Association (B&ES) saw a less rapid drop during the second half of 2012 than in the first half, but falling levels of orders and enquiries indicate that business performance is likely to worsen in the year ahead, according to the association's second independent state of trade survey.